I had a test drive tonight to see if I was well enough to drive. I can't quite tell whether I'm 100% better any more because I've been so tired due to working hard at work and not sleeping, so that makes me a bit dizzy anyway. I am definitely looking forward to doing very little this weekend, and going to 's to spend money at the local bookshop (and tell my satnav where it is) will force me to do that. Apart from the driving through Wycombe part...

The trouble was that I haven't driven for two and a half weeks, I think. So I was scared of just about everything going wrong, but I just had to open the car door and it smelt of dad's car, and that made me feel better. I quite liked, when dad first brought it up and I was scared to drive it at all, to see it outside the house because it reminded me of home. So I slid in the car (I parked it really close to the wall last time I drove) and then had to wipe away the cobwebs and use the windscreen wash twice because it was so dusty...

I made it round the block - well, round the town since the town's so small and I live on a tiny estate so there isn't a block. The only trouble I had was getting the car started - something with automatic choke would be very nice. Also I now know the tank is three-quarters full, which is good given I noticed the other day that petrol's gone up to 114p! Depending on who drives to what events coming up, that may or may not last me till mid-June. It certainly won't last till the end of June, but then I last filled up at the end of April, so as long as a tank of petrol lasts a month, that's good (just doesn't always happen).

I discovered the use of the iPlayer tonight. I love how they have it just on the website now. I don't need to start up the software at all. I got a bit restless and thought I'd like to watch something interesting but mind-numbing on TV. This was at 9.30 and when I looked at the TV guide I found something on at 7pm... So I went to the iPlayer and watched, well, not that exact program, but another episode from earlier in the week. And now my lounge is much tidier.

Happy Christmas to everyone that celebrates it, and happy bank holiday to anyone that doesn't.

I have a working 4oD and BBC iPlayer! There was a solution on the iPlayer forums, but annoyingly you can't search the forums. Basically, there was something wrong with the database. So I deleted it, reinstalled everything and now it's happy.

I obviously slept funny last night because my left shoulder & neck hurt, so apart from listening to Humph in Wonderland (they cut One Song to the Tune of the Other!) and watching an old Top Gear, I've mostly been reading Yuletide stories. I've read 16 so far but the best were the two written for me!

I had no idea you could get more than one story for Yuletide until I spent yesterday writing seven short ones. But I was lucky enough to get two longish ones, really good ones. I still need to go back and comment on the stories I've read, but since the comments are taking ages (I assume, since I've only had a fraction emailed to me of the ones posted) there's not really a great rush, as long as I get it done today. I am aiming to get them all read today, then I'll post a list of recs.

My BBC news email told me this morning that Channel 4 are planning to offer downloads. I don't actually watch that much on Channel 4 but it would be good to catch up with Teachers because I seem to have seen random bits of that.

The Guardian had a big article in the online section about spam, since it's gone crazy recently (I used to get about 50 a day, now it's 100). Except that they basically concluded there's nothing you can do. It's just took them the whole of the front page and part of page 2 to do it.

Last night I was good and sat down and now have 2511 words for my pico project, which is halfway.

And I had an email today to say I passed all of my checks for the estate agent, so I can move in on 15th December! Current plan is to clean the flat on the 15th and get some essentialy furniture (bed, hoover) delivered. Then move in on 16th and clean my room here. Then live out of crates for a week while I work out what furniture I need and what I have space for. Then I'll be buying some of that in January.

At the moment I'm trying to read books that I'm planning to charity once I've done, so there'll be less to move. Current book is What Katy Did, which I'm sure I read when I was younger but don't remember. The kids are mostly looked after by their aunt, which is making me think how much I'd like to see Sarah Jane as a child, growing up with her aunt fic.

Saturday was a typical Christmas day - I got loads done. Seven chapters of my (well, technically dads) php book. Although in all fairness all those chapters covered were basic programming concepts. This was after the cat decided he loved me and wanted to sit on my lap and go to sleep. I ended up having to throw him off so I could have breakfast.

Boxing day, in a change to the last three years, I didn't go to the cinema. I didn't go anywhere, in fact. I didn't get as much done, although I did play with a friends computer, sorting out the virus checking, firewall, etc.

Today we've been out measuring printer boxes among the crowds in Staples, Comet, PCWorld and Currys. It really was hideous. I don't know why people have to go and buy things (or more often, stand in the way) from these shops on Christmas bank holiday. All that remains is to decide which printer I want, now that I have counted out those that look horrid or have boxes that are too big.

We started doing a puzzle on Saturday night. Only a simple 1000 piece one of a cottage in Sommerset (sic). We're still doing it. The trouble is that half the pieces look like they fit in, even when they don't. Which is a problem when you're doing a bit that's all the same colour. We might not make it to the second puzzle at this rate. Although we are watching ROTK in two bits today, as there's nothing on, so we might get more of it done!

I am also really looking forward to the BBC bringing in the TV equivalent of Listen Again. If only ITV and C4 did that too I would never need to tape anything again, which would be really useful. Although I suppose there are issues with adverts for the other two channels. I was unsurprised to find they were all furniture sales adverts when I came home. Even though I don't remember the last time I watched any adverts.